The University of Queensland student union president refuses to answer questions on why his ruling “Fresh” party secretly registered the name of a rival group and then installed his brother as a candidate for next week’s elections.

The ghost of Voluntary Student Unionism returned this week with the introduction of the Student Services and Amenities Fee Bill. Crikey thought it was pertinent to cast an eye over the current batch of sitting politicians who got their start in the sandpit of the nation’s student unions.

The Monash Student Association (MSA) is in meltdown after members of its ruling clique sidelined rivals from running in forthcoming elections while paying a factional associate and adviser to Senator Gavin Marshall $32,000 to oversee its student elections.